Shall We Attack the Apartment?
The kind neighbor. Shall we attack the apartment? I fell into thought as I stared at the corpses scattered across the floor. There were quite a few bodies. Comparing them to the number of people I had seen during the apartment raid. Looks like there are still plenty left. Gathering only the people from Villa Street did not seem like enough to take on the apartment. Tap tap tap. I drummed my fingers on my knee. A simple plan unfolded smoothly in my head. The resources left in the apartment. There would be many doors that could not be opened. In that massive complex, a great deal of resources were still sleeping, waiting only for my touch. In fact, the amount was so large it would be difficult for all the Villa Street people to handle even if they killed everyone. I needed friends to act alongside me. The street robbers, the gun-toting armed men, the symbol of public authority. I heard the police buddies from the substation had joined the main station. Let's call those friends. And the Hope Church? Would it be convenient if I told them to bring chainsaws and crowbars? Splitting it roughly between those two groups seemed best. It would also serve to build my reputation and stack up some friendship while I was at it.
“Mister. I'm thinking of attacking the apartment now, while we don't know the situation on that side—” I called the man over and laid out the idea. He told me to handle the attack myself and left it in my hands. So I contacted my friends at the police station, and Jeon Dohyeong called the Hope Church to set a time. It was time for a fun and rewarding looting operation.
People gathered in front of the apartment entrance. Beyond the barricade, the apartment residents paced back and forth, clearly flustered. The confidence that should have come from their numbers, or the aggressive momentum they had shown while looting the street, was nowhere to be found. In their place stood a crowd of thoroughly sinister humans. Police cars lined up along the roadside flashed blood-red lights and corpse-pale blue ones. Officers gripping pistols and batons radiated a menacing aura. On the opposite side were the Hope Church people. Makeshift shields and improvised spears gave off the dull gleam of steel, while behind them slingshots and Molotov cocktails looked ready to fly at any moment. Our group from Villa Street looked the most pathetic. Simple survivors. We were few in number. We could not empty the street completely, so we had left people behind to defend it. At least we had tasted blood, so our momentum was decent… but still. As expected, the street where I am is the weakest. It was a world where survival required real effort. The potential competitors were too strong. I could not let my tension ease for even a second.
Around that time, several people approached me from the police and the Hope Church. My friend the policeman, the squad leader who seemed to act as police chief, and Elder Jeondo from the Hope Church.
“Dain? Who is it?”
“It's that person.”
“Deacon Kwon. It's been a while.”
“Yes, thank you for coming like this.”
Friendly greetings passed between the kind neighbors. Even though the police and the Hope Church had clashed before, it did not seem to be a major issue. Everyone laughed with expectation and hope. Or perhaps it was because of the enormous treasure vault called the apartment standing right in front of them.
“I heard the story from this friend. Looks like we're not the only ones left. They're even giving us such a good opportunity.”
“The more food the better. By the way, how do you want to divide it?”
“Cleanly one-third each. Let's keep it fair so there are no complaints later. We'll probably end up working together often in the future, won't we?”
They discussed how to split the apartment residents' resources without caring about the residents' opinions. An apartment resident who had been eavesdropping crept closer and raised his voice, but it was pointless. Only looters were gathered here, after all.
“Who gave you the right to decide our—”
Bang—!
A light gunshot rang out. The moment the man opened his mouth, the squad leader fired his pistol into the air. It was not a waste of ammunition; it seemed to be a blank meant to intimidate. The looting squad leader, his face fierce, let out a low chuckle. The man who had spoken so amiably suddenly changed. He strode forward and pressed the pistol against the head of the complaining resident.
“I heard everything. You people had guns, right? Where do bastards who killed police officers and stole their weapons get the nerve to run their mouths?”
Information I had given them. During the clash, the apartment bastards had fired guns. They were targets for the police to take revenge on. The apartment resident's face turned deathly pale. He made sounds like “Uh, uh,” as if trying to speak, but after looking into the squad leader's eyes he clamped his mouth shut. Even I could see an unnatural fire burning in the Police Chief's gaze. Something like hatred or madness. Without any warning, he pulled the trigger.
Bang. A heavy gunshot. The resident with a hole in his head collapsed. The Police Chief kicked the corpse.
“Anyone who touches us after stealing our pistols deserves to die. …Tsk, wasted a bullet. Anyway, let's move.”
It was a common sight these days. Hadn't Sa Gihyeok said so? These days, people killing other people happened more often. The crowd began moving in an organized fashion with little reaction. As if the tasks had already been assigned, several people stepped forward first. Each group headed toward different buildings so their paths would not overlap.
“Gather here. Do not move without permission.”
Some officers rounded up the apartment residents in one spot and kept them under control. They surrounded the trembling people and pointed their guns at them. To make sure they did not try anything. Meanwhile, other officers slung sledgehammers and tool bags over their shoulders and loosened their joints.
“Looks like we won't get them all open in one day?”
“Aren't you the expert, senior? Last time I watched, you opened them so easily.”
“It's all about technique—”
Official door-breaching specialists. The veterans who had forced open front doors for urgent arrests or searches took the lead. The Hope Church was similar. People carrying crowbars, grinders, and drills stepped forward while others cleared the barricades and made room for vehicles.
We began moving as well.
“Mr. Park Yanggun. Let's head to that building over there.”
In the art of opening doors, we were not inferior. After all, we had a real thief, a wild technician, Park Yanggun, who had reached mastery through self-study. We might even be better.
“Good. My hands are itching. I'd be embarrassed if we fell behind those guys.”
Perhaps he felt competitive. We followed Park Yanggun, who was enthusiastically flexing his fingers, toward Building 103. A joyful day of sweating through labor together and reaping the harvest. It was an even better day because we had neighbors to share the joy with.
I had done well to recruit Park Yanggun. He showed an efficiency that could not be compared to clumsy humans who sweated buckets while smashing doors. A few quick swishes of the hand and the door opened. If it would not open, he would even tie a rope to his body, exit through a window, and break into the locked house. A true thief. Park Yanggun, refreshed from sweating, laughed and mocked the police and the Hope Church.
“Those amateurs. Haven't they finished opening their doors yet?”
While we had opened every door, they still had not finished their work. I praised Park Yanggun.
“Sigh. You can't even compare them. Mr. Park Yanggun is a real professional. How could they compete?”
“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
Park Yanggun suddenly made a sour face. He stroked his chin above his mask, then plopped down on the roadside. He waved his hand roughly.
“I'm going to rest now. You guys handle moving the stuff.”
“Yes, I have things to do as well.”
I walked slowly, observing the atmosphere as I passed. People moving busily like ants, carrying food. Apartment residents stamping their feet and shedding tears. Police identifying gun owners, breathing roughly as they swung their batons.
“Aack, I'm sorry! I was wrong! I needed the gun—”
“Because of people like you!”
The culprit who had fired wildly during the previous clash curled into a ball and rolled across the ground. Truncheons rained down on him. I clicked my tongue. They don't seem to plan on killing them all. The atmosphere was one of looting while leaving the apartment residents alive. If they had intended to kill them, they would have done it already. It would have been more efficient to wipe everyone out and put even the officers controlling the residents to work. I understood the decision. Massacring unarmed civilians? Even I could not say those words out loud. I was somehow treated as a human who had adapted quickly to the apocalypse, but if I crossed the line even slightly here, I would be regarded as a madman and attacked. No matter how much of an apocalypse it was, people had not fallen that far yet. Even if the world ended, people still lived, and there were minimum rules between them. Just as there were rules even among beasts.
Still….
“It bothers me.”
“W-what? What are you going to do this time?”
I turned around in surprise. Jeon Dohyeong had approached without a sound and was watching me. It made sense for a wicked electricity thief. He was one of the few criminal colleagues, after all. I jerked my chin toward the apartment residents.
“Do you think those people will stay quiet?”
“Ah. They probably will.”
“I'm not so sure. With no food, isn't there bound to be someone among that many people who will try to get revenge somehow? Come at night to set fires or spread the virus.”
Weren't there people who would reveal human nature by dragging others down with them in death? Shouldn't we prevent that? It was a hot afternoon like summer. Even though the labor made it even hotter, Jeon Dohyeong frantically rubbed his arms, which had broken out in goosebumps. It seemed this guy had sensed the danger too.
“No.”
“Why?”
“They don't even have enough food to eat right now. How could they think about anything else?”
“Because it's lacking, they'll go for mutual destruction. Ah. That's right.”
I suddenly realized it. People with nothing to lose were frightening. Then wouldn't it be good to leave them with hope? If they had any hope of surviving, they would not throw their lives away recklessly. As expected of the best supporter, an expert at killing people without lifting a finger himself. This was already the umpteenth incident he had guided me into.
“That's a good suggestion. I hadn't thought of that.”
“…Huh? What thought? What did I say?”
Leaving behind Jeon Dohyeong, who was pretending not to know, I went to find Elder Jeondo and the Police Chief. By the time we had roughly finished our discussion, the sun began to set. Resources that would need to be moved several times by car were piled on the street. Rice sacks, kimchi from kimchi refrigerators, salt, soy sauce, red pepper paste, and all kinds of food. It was plenty even when divided among the three groups. Enough that we would not need to loot for a while. There were more than one or two buildings, and the floors were high, so there was that much food that had only been collecting dust. In front of the heartwarming sight, the Police Chief approached the apartment residents.
“This bastard stole a gun?”
“I repent. Please.”
“Who reported it?”
A few people hesitantly raised their hands. The chief nodded and pointed toward the spot where a considerable amount of food was stacked. It was far too much for the informants to eat alone, yet not enough for all the apartment people to share.
“Citizens with a strong reporting spirit are not enemies. This is a reward. Take it. It's your food, after all.”
The informants approached with bright faces, but soon seemed to grasp the situation and stopped in their tracks. Could they really protect all that food? Already suspicion seemed to be flowing among the apartment residents. Eyes aimed at the informants' food. Wary eyes. Hands gripping weapons tightly. Leaving them with just enough strength to fight each other was enough. Once they fought, the hatred would turn toward those closest to them. Since they had seen the reporting reward, they would report anyone who did anything suspicious. I tapped Jeon Dohyeong on the shoulder.
“It was your idea. This way, no one will recklessly try to attack us first.”
“No. No matter how you look at it….”
Jeon Dohyeong, who had been staring at me in disbelief, turned his head away. And so we finished the looting. We had gained so many resources that the long time invested felt worthwhile. We had also checked the dangerous neighbors, so it was a good outcome. Like a celebratory shot, the sound of the Police Chief firing his gun to execute an apartment resident who had attacked the police rang out.